


Temporary Transfer

by estike



Category: Company - Lesson Passion Company
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-24 11:20:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14953707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estike/pseuds/estike
Summary: Takano Haruka knows what he wants. He also knows exactly how far he would go to get what he wants… A self-inflicted temporary transfer to the Ariake Head Office, Tokyo.





	1. Ariake Foods and Pharmacy Launch Party, The Washington Hotel, Tokyo Bay

Takano Haruka knows what he wants. He also knows exactly how far he would go to get what he wants… Ariake Head Office, Tokyo.

 

***

 

_Ariake F &P_ launch party. Standing buffet, all you can drink beer. In the corner sake, wine, and spirits are reserved for the more sophisticated, but Takano Haruka is not particularly sophisticated when it comes to his alcohol. Jazz plays in the background softly enough to be completely ignored. He knows everyone, at least by the face.

When he is tipsy enough, Yamada corners him with feigned confidence, brows tightly knitted together.

“Takano-san,” he warns with a tipsy edge in his voice. “I don’t want you to be stepping on any toes tonight.”

He is not exactly famous for stepping on toes, Takano retorts immediately. Yamada squints at him, saying that he did not come to be funny this time. This time.

“You know exactly what I am talking about. Aoyagi is our treasure.” Before Takano could say anything, he quickly adds. “And I am guarding him with all I have. The company president won’t be happy if you snatch him from under his nose.”

Takano replies that the company president should have valued him harder from the very beginning then, if he is so keen on keeping him now. And he tries snatching him once anyway: only to be refused in front of a room full of people. It doesn’t put him off. Aoyagi just says no because he does not know anything other than his company – that much is not hard to see. Yamada glares at him from the corner, eyes cold and full of judgement, like he tried to drive a van into the crowd. Ootsuka joins in staring.

But Takano does not give up. He knows what he wants, and he knows exactly how far he is willing to go to get it. Aoyagi Seiji will end up working for his start-up, even if that is the only thing he does. The rest is not too important. (Work is sadly more important than his private life, because unlike in his private life, he is less likely to die when someone touches him anywhere, if it concerns his job…)

After that, Yamada and Ootsuka pay careful attention to guard Aoyagi’s every moment – lest Takano can make another attempt at seduction. They guard Aoyagi, as if he was not on top of the list of potential downsizing victims only a few weeks ago. He also knows what Aoyagi is capable of, but he had his eyes on him for far longer than Ariake. (Even though Aoyagi has been working under Ariake for … god knows exactly how long now. Ten years, perhaps?)

They reach for the same glass of beer with Minakami Nayuta. Nayuta giggles and allows him to have it, once their hands brush together. He is red from cheek to the tip of his nose. 

“Takano-san…” he mewls. On his other arm, he has a decently sober Ariake Sara, silently judging the two of them. “What do you think about marriage?”

He has a few thoughts on marriage, but he is not sure Nayuta needs to hear them here and now. “Why, are you asking me?”

Nayuta answers that he knows better than that, then pulls Sara closer to himself. “But I need to practice before I talk to her dad. Ariake _shachō_ is… overwhelming.”

_My my_ , but you performed in front of thousands at arenas what is so scary about a single old man, Takano wants to tease – then decides to leave it as it is. He is not the only one who has things to settle with the company president. And just like Nayuta, he is trying to snatch something that had suddenly become way too precious for him. He is not afraid of the company president per se, but he also sees how Nayuta has a lot more to lose.

He turns towards Sara, attempting to make it light. “You are resolved to marry the ugly little frog in the end?”

Turns out some things are only okay when Ariake Sara says them, so he ends up elegantly running for his life before the situation could get serious. If Ariake is too busy digesting that an idol, barely twenty, wants to marry his daughter all of a sudden, his guard may be lowered when it comes to Aoyagi. Nayuta might still do him a good service with this.

When the all you can drink beer does its job and Yamada disappears in the bathroom, he steals up to Aoyagi once again. A subtle touch on his upper arm, voice lowered to a mere whisper. Aoyagi cannot hear him, so he tilts his head towards him. Takano is on tiptoes.

“Come, let’s take a walk.”

When he finally hears the words properly, Aoyagi gapes at him. The party is on the top floor banquet hall of The Washington in Kōtō, without much to see around other than grey skyscrapers of corporation-owned buildings and the Big Sight on their left. Good scenery or no, they should still take a walk together, Takano presses. On his way out of the hall, he grabs another beer for each, so they have something to clutch to themselves as they speak. Takano navigates through the hallway, glowing in golden brown. The carpet under them swallows their footsteps.

“I thought we could use some privacy. Where you and I can both speak our minds,” Takano says, once they reached the emergency exit.

He pushes the door open and invites Aoyagi outside. The evening wind slaps them in the face strongly as they step under the open sky. The emergency stairs are not the best place to negotiate marriage, but there is not much better Takano can do in this situation.

“Can we not speak our minds inside?” Aoyagi’s question is genuine.

No matter how straightforward he is, Aoyagi was still born and raised here: he will never be able to speak his mind fully in front of his company president. The pressure is too strong.

“Yamada warned me not to do this, you know.” Yet here he is, doing it. Aoyagi asks, what exactly. “Taking you away from here.”

“Take me away where?”

Beyond ‘company’. He explains all over again – Takano, Aoyagi, Segawa, in Vienna, now. His start-up needs a driver, for sure, but what more it needs are loyal, capable office workers. Aoyagi thinks that if he needs capable people, he should be looking somewhere else. He slams the beer on the safety wall next to them.

“Aoyagi-san. Come with me,” he beckons.

Aoyagi reminds him that he has already come with him. But it is only outside. He wants to take him beyond that, straight to Europe.

“No, I mean: _come with me_. Beyond all of this.”

“I cannot just do that.”

When being asked why, the answer comes too easily to Aoyagi. “I am not who you imagine me to be, Takano-san,” he claims, as if that was the most obvious thing on earth.

“Or are you not the person who _you_ imagine yourself to be?” Takano probes.

Aoyagi does everything that is the exact opposite of a good self-PR. He does not speak English, his skills are poor or at best below average, and luck is the only thing that got him so far in his career. But English can be learned, and the lack of skills might be up for debate.

Takano holds his hand out as an invitation. “Aoyagi-san, why is it that you are only able to act for other people, for your company, and never for yourself?”

Aoyagi looks from his hand to his face, then slowly back at his hand before gripping it lightly and shaking it as a mere joke. He pretends to take it lightly, instead of admitting that he has no idea about what is going on exactly. That he does not know what these words _really_ mean. Takano can still see the confusion in his eyes. Kind eyes. Brown and warm, like dark chocolate: could be sweeter, would he finally understand. Being oblivious is only adorable to an extent, after a while it gets in Takano’s way.

“Is my offer not good enough for you? What more do you want? Tell me.”

Aoyagi shakes his head. “You do not understand: it is useless to ask me to join you. I am not good enough for you. Just as I said before.” He goes on again: no English, no skills, and so on and so forth.

It’s getting boring. Surely, Aoyagi’s straightforwardness is the one thing that attracts him the most. His simplicity. He puts on no airs about himself. He shows no more than what there is to him. He doesn’t _try_.

But sometimes… he clearly underestimates himself. Simplicity does not equal mediocrity. Aoyagi needs to somehow understand this before it’s too late. (And he refuses to come and join Takano in Europe again.)

“If you can outright tell me to stop courting you, I will believe that you don’t want this and leave you alone. But you cannot say it, can you?”  

If he was not so angry at Aoyagi for stalling, he would feel bad for him, as his colouring starts to resemble The Washington’s pale grey walls more and more with each passing second. But this is not a moment for compassion. Their fingers are still intertwined, and Aoyagi tries to struggle out of it.

“Please don’t do this to me,” he begs.

It is not a call for him to stop courting, however. So, Takano pushes further. “I want a favourable answer. What are you afraid of?”

Aoyagi should have gotten used to being confronted this way, but he learned nothing all these months. Not from the dancing, not from Takano slipping away to Vienna when things did not seem to go his way. (That time he really just wanted to go home for a refresh break, though, and that scandal was the perfect opportunity for an impromptu holiday. Which is the exact reason he felt bad about it later, when it turned out that Aoyagi and Segawa both paid up a fortune to come and fetch him.)  

“I am not who you imagine me to be … this company is not what you imagine it to be. So please do not do this to me.”

That answer does not satisfy him. “Didn’t you say you were lost without me and unable to find your way? What will you do when I leave for Europe and it will be only you and your company again? Can they really give you what you want from life? I can’t believe you are set to sit in the same office for your entire life, and go back to your boring office job after this. You _know_ I can offer you more than any of this.”

Aoyagi opens his mouth, then closes it, at a loss for words. He can only repeat himself over and over again (“Please don’t do this to me”), which is neither favourable, neither unfavourable.

He allows Aoyagi to break the skinship between them anyway. He takes his beer in hand instead, and squints at the man. “But I will not give up on you yet, Aoyagi-san.”

Whether Aoyagi is glad or terrified, it is hard to tell. He nods as an answer, awkwardly, then grabs his beer too, to follow suit, saying it is time for them to go back. Takano does not want to go back – he is nowhere near reaching his goal yet. He invited Aoyagi outside so they would have a few moments alone where they could both be straightforward with each other. Nobody can expect Aoyagi to leave his employer behind while his entire company is watching.

When they enter the venue again, he can feel Yamada piercing him with his black eyes. He makes a step towards Takano, but Ootsuka thankfully stops him in time, dragging him back by the sleeve. Yanking him down, so his ear would be in the same line as his lips, he whispers a few words to him. Takano is too far from them to understand any of it but he assumes it is to make him behave. His contract with _Ariake F &P_ might have ended with the launch party, but it does not mean that the company employees can freely threaten him in front of an audience.

Segawa catches him off guard, approaching from the left. The blue bow in her hair and the poofy, girly dress make her look almost unsettling. There is something amiss when Takano looks at her. She should put the tracksuit back on as soon as possible, it suits her more.

“So, it means I will not have to wear skirts at your posh café? Or at your company?” she asks, with a relieved sigh.

“God forbid.” He coughs and tries to soften his voice after a few seconds. “Unless wearing skirts all the time is your special request.”

Segawa shrugs. It feels rather disturbing to have so much room below the waist, and being suffocated above all the same, she thinks. And no matter how much she tried, she could not wear this outfit with a sports bra, she adds, under her breath. When she thinks nobody is looking she tries to – very ungracefully – adjust the strapless bra she is wearing with both hands.

“Some people do this every day,” she mutters, reminding herself, then changes the subject. “Anyway… Aoyagi?”

“Not yet.”

His “yet” is wistful enough for Segawa to understand that he has been turned down enough times to wound his pride. She makes a fleeting comment about Takano probably not being used to anyone paying so little mind to him. A first time for everything, she adds. Does Aoyagi not pay any mind to him? Mind you, he tells Segawa, it was him who forced the man to move on from his dead wife. That must mean something.

“I see, it is complicated,” Segawa sighs, and fetches them some more beer to mend Takano’s heart.          

He drinks a round with Segawa, one with Nayuta and Sara, and another with the Barbarians. His cheeks are definitely turning uncomfortably red by the time he finds Aoyagi again in the sea of people. He is talking to the company president about something – Takano vaguely overhears the mention of promotions, and holidays. With stumbly legs, he steps closer to Aoyagi.

“Aoyagi-san,” he calls out, loud. “Leave this company behind and come work for me in Europe at once!”

Aoyagi is dumbfounded. Ariake _shachō_ does not miss a heartbeat, on the other hand.

“I heard about your start-up.” He shows his teeth when he is smiling. “It would make sense to try and seduce a gifted worker such as Aoyagi to help you with making the first steps. Those are always the hardest, wouldn’t you agree? Right. Have you worked in many offices in your life, Takano-san?”

Takano can hear the condescending tone in his voice, but for now he chooses to ignore it. He shows his teeth instead, too.

“I am afraid I could not fit another full-time job into my life, while dancing for several European companies.”

Ariake thinks it is no wonder that he would be so desperate, trying to involve himself with people who actually understand how to run a company. Starting up something so different from what he had been doing before must be scary. But, he warns Takano.

“It is also not surprising that Aoyagi does not want to go with you, you know. Who would want to go into the unknown, and serve under a company president who is so obviously a beginner. Not only at leadership, but also at anything that has to do with an office. If you want Aoyagi, you should want to show him first that you are capable.”

Aoyagi must know that he is capable, Takano retorts. They have been together for the past half a year or so, he had plenty of opportunities to witness it himself. (And, besides, Takano’s orders helped to make the Swan Lake a success more than any of Ariake’s. Ariake did exactly nothing to help Aoyagi grow, he only applauded him once it happened. This already makes Takano a better candidate for company presidency.)

“I know Takano-san is more than capable.” Aoyagi speaks quickly, coming to his rescue. The face he makes after saying it suggests that he blurted his opinion out without much consideration.

Ariake looks from Aoyagi to Takano, exhaling slowly. Does he understand? Does he understand the same way as Segawa understands – or does he understand the same way as Yamada? Then, he exclaims with a sharp laugh.

“Alright! If you want Aoyagi, and Aoyagi wants you, I will give you my blessings.”

They look at each other in such a speed that Takano can feel a little sting in his neck from turning it too quickly. Aoyagi does not even attempt to say that he wants to stay here. When no verbal reaction comes from the two of them and they only glare at each other in disbelief, Ariake continues. Perhaps he was waiting for a better reaction.

“Provided that I have confirmation on not sending Aoyagi to meet immediate bankruptcy at your booking agency first.”

Takano swallows. What does that mean exactly?                                                             

“You surely know where the main office of _Ariake F &P_ is. If you are not in much of a haste to get back to Vienna, do turn up. It might take some work, but you may be able to leave with some work experience, and our Aoyagi.”

So, Ariake is offering him a desk job? At his company? He asks, just to confirm. Yamada looks about as unimpressed as he is himself. If he felt a little tipsy before, by now he sobered up completely. It is not often that he would be left speechless so many times in a row and it acts like a slap on one cheek, a kiss on the other. Ariake turns away, considering their conversation to be over.

“I absolutely understand if you are not comfortable doing that, too,” he says, as he leaves them. “It must take a lot of pride to admit that you might not know close to enough about the inner workings of a company to start one. Still, the Ariake head office has its doors open.”  

After the company president leaves, an odd silence falls on the hall. People are still chattering, and the jazz music is still quietly running in the background, but there is a strange absence around them. Maybe it is only Takano’s ears. He looks around, only to find Segawa standing on his other side, eyeing him and Aoyagi.

That was strange, Takano laughs, and tries to shake the odd feeling off. Aoyagi still hasn’t said anything, so he assumes that he simply did not want to speak against his company president again. Everything stays the same. Takano sighs. Aoyagi’s complete silence does not really help either his sobriety, or his hopes for having him in Vienna any time soon.

“If you don’t want your boss to send you away to Europe, you should tell him, you know,” he says, laughing it off.

Aoyagi shakes his head. “Will I not see you at work on Monday then, Takano-san? It’s been a while that we had the chance to work together.”

He excuses himself before Takano could come up with an answer for him. Segawa looks at him with curious eyes, waiting for the answer he could not give to Aoyagi.

“So?”

Sitting at a desk for eight hours in order to get Aoyagi as his price does not seem too far-fetched of a challenge. He tilts his head, and smiles to himself.                                                                                                                                                

“I know what I want, and now the entire Ariake company knows it too,” Takano confirms.

 

 ***                             

 

And Takano Haruka really knows what he wants. He also knows exactly how far he would go to get what he wants… Which is why he is heading towards Ariake Head Office, Tokyo in the Monday morning rush hour.

                                                                                                                                                        


	2. Work is Fun, at Ariake Food & Pharmacy Headquarters, Tokyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I thought this story would be three chapters long, but I wasted a lot of time by talking about nothing in particular in this one, so I apologize for that.

Segawa Yui will not act as his driver anymore. She refuses.  

“You might have been the treasure of our country when it came to ballet,” she argues, “but right now, you are just a mere salaryman. If department heads and executives go and take the train in the morning rush like normal people, you should have no reason to claim a chauffeur for yourself either.”

And besides, she is not working with Ariake anymore, the woman adds, so that is more the reason for her not to involve herself in this. If Takano is keen to go through an internship to get his hands-on Aoyagi she will not stop him, for sure. But she is not working for Takano _yet_ , and not working for Ariake _anymore_. If Takano wants anything, he will have to go after it himself. He is on his own. (Is this how constant rejection felt like to her when he kept leaving her behind no matter how hard she tried to do her job? Perhaps.)

“Just make sure you have _fun_ ,” Segawa tells him, and he does not yet know what to make of the odd tone in her voice as she utters that word. Fun…

Takano rides the Tokaido line, tasting her words in his mouth. Fun… is not really how he could call this excursion. Does he have any recollection of riding these trains during rush hour? He went to a high school in the area where he lived so he barely needed to take the train in the morning or in the evening rush hour. He was either on a bike, or he walked.

It’s barely April and he is sweaty under his jacket within two minutes. Keeping it on was definitely a mistake. Someone’s elbow is pressed into his side, there is an umbrella poking his thigh and someone’s briefcase in carving a hole into his back. (At least he hopes it is someone’s briefcase.)

As he approaches the corporate building from the train station he retrospectively gives thanks to whoever arranged their briefing sessions to take place comfortably after lunch, when trains were empty, and salarymen were not swarming towards their head office in the same white shirts, the same navy or black suits, and the very same type of leather shoes. Seeing this, he gains another affirmation: this is surely not what he wants for himself and his company. Thank you, Ariake Seijirō.

Takano only fits into the third lift leaving from the ground floor. It feels a little less congested than the morning train, but in principle, nothing changes. The small space already smells like bodies, sweat, and the lack of motivation. (Maybe Takano just imagines that last one.)

When he finally fights his way out of the lift on the twelfth floor, a woman with a surgical mask welcomes him at the still darkened but already familiar reception area. (She does not really welcome him, she sort of sits there with her phone out in her hand, absent-mindedly browsing some social media site.) Her hair is light brown, and definitely dyed.

Takano came here many times before, during his previous arrangements with Ariake, but he fails to remember if the same woman sat at the front desk all the time. She does not take notice of him.

“Excuse me. My name is Takano Haruka and…”

She looks up, slightly confused, then jumps up from her seat. “We are grateful for your patronage. Do you have an appointment with someone in the office this morning?”

He does not know how exactly to say it… It really goes beyond an appointment. 

“In fact, I am here to…”

“Takano-san!” Aoyagi Seiji comes through the glass door, acting as his saviour. Takano can barely keep his eyes open at this time of the day (it is before 9 am!), while he looks so fresh and awake, as he was already working for the past two hours already. “I saw you through the window. Thank you for coming.” 

The way he puts it makes Takano think that he had no hopes of seeing him in the office after all. Does he think that he takes trying to seduce him to his side so lightly? He has no time to get properly offended, because Aoyagi escorts him into the depths of the office without any further delay. Some people take no notice of him, some others cannot take their eyes off of him, knowing full well who he is and what he had done. (For the record, he only tried to get what he wanted. No crime in that.)

Takano has never been in other than the meeting rooms of the office before, so the interior catches him off guard. White desks, grey carpets, big, shaded windows. It does not resemble the ostentatious, colourful rooms where he was welcomed by the company president as a well-esteemed guest. If anything, the plain whiteness hurts his eyes a little.

Aoyagi stops next to a desk-complex and points at a seat. “That will be your desk for now. There is some paperwork to be done about contracting you for this period, so please make sure to fill them out by lunchtime. But, as soon as possible.”

He sits down at the head of the desk; that is his seat. Takano remains standing, waiting for the words to sink in. At the back of the office, this place is hardly anyone’s dream position. He has a feeling about being treated exceptionally, even so.

“When do I meet the company president?” he finally asks, as he lowers himself into the office chair, scanning the needed documents.

Never, Aoyagi says. Most people who start working here only see him by passing, after they are done with their last interview session for the company. (Last interview being giving a hearty “hello” to the president before never seeing him again any time soon, Aoyagi confirms.)

“Just make sure you have _fun_ ,” Aoyagi tells him, before turning back to his computer and starting to type something like his life depended on it. Even his face changes, brows knitted together, squinty eyes. Takano has no idea what possibly can be that urgent to write. When he takes a little break to rest his fingers, he adds. “If people see that you are truly trying to do your best, they will be ready to assist you, even if you fail.”

Takano coughs and reminds him why he is here. It is not likely that his workmates would try to passionately assist him in his endeavours, he believes.

“I am trying to steal you away from this company, Aoyagi-san. I think Yamada and Ootsuka would rather have their hands around my throat if I showed enthusiasm in doing that, rather than coming to my rescue.”

Aoyagi laughs, and since he does not normally understand the subtext (or the _context_ , for that matter) of one’s speech, Takano assumes that it is because he still has close to zero grasp on the situation. He doesn’t get it. He has no idea why Takano is willing to go this far. Absolutely no clue.

The problem with these people was that you could have gotten close to each other the night before, but as soon as a new day started, your relationship meter was suddenly back at zero again, and you all pretended that last night never happened. No matter how close he seemed to be to his goal during the launch party when Aoyagi begged him not to tempt him anymore, now they are all back to the start. Naïve, oblivious Aoyagi. Bleak, grey office.

“None of the company employees are like that here,” Aoyagi thinks. “They are all good people, they would never think about doing such things to you.”

For a moment he does not know if he should feel sorry for him or be envious of Aoyagi. How blissful it is to be completely blind to the real world around you. There are bad men everywhere. Especially at massive corporations that suck the life straight out of you. (And for the record, it gets even clearer to him after mere five minutes – this is not the sort of company he will ever be caught founding.)

Takano is in the middle of filling his contract out, when the clock strikes nine. The chime catches him off-guard first, then it’s the speed with which everyone around him jumps up to gather around the front of the office under the _Ariake F &P_ company motto. Aoyagi quickly takes some paper, most resembling a business card, out of his drawer and then nudges him to follow.

“Morning assembly,” he explains as they catch up with the others, and graciously shares his company ethics list with Takano.

So, they can read it out loud. When Takano looks around, everyone diligently seems to be doing the same as his new boss, and he assumes that he is the only one with cold running down his spine as he listens to their voice ring in unison. Most likely he spent way too much time away from home.

He does not even have time to recover from the reading when the assembly leader asks if anyone has any matters to discuss: to which Aoyagi raises his hand, and leaving the company ethics with Takano, proceeds to take his place at the front.

“Good morning everyone.”

Half of the office diligently murmurs good morning back to him, the rest of them pretend to mouth morning without saying anything in effect. What could describe Takano the best right now is “uncomfortable.”

“Today a new contract employee, Takano Haruka, joined our office,” he explains. Then, he gestures towards him. “He will make an address now. Please treat him well.”

Talk about being uncomfortable. Takano does not move for the longest three seconds, then his feet automatically carry him beside Aoyagi. Of course. Of course, this is Japan. Everything is about making addresses like it was a legitimate hobby.

He has no recollection of what he says but the whole self-introduction ends within a minute. My name is Takano Haruka (as you all know, of course – the Power Wing posters are still hung out on the doors when you enter the reception area), please treat me kindly.

My name is Takano Haruka, I only come to take your best man. You do not have to even attempt treating me kindly. Simply hand him over. I know what I want, unlike most of you, mindlessly reading out the company’s standards of behaviour. And I will get what I want, too. You may make it as hard for me as possible.

With that, the meeting ends and they all walk back to their respective desks. Takano tries his best not to click his tongue as he assumes his place on Aoyagi’s side. The man is ridiculously tall. Well, he needs to look up at him.  

“Aoyagi-san, you could have told me I would need to introduce myself beforehand.”

Aoyagi laughs. Again. Do company employees laugh this much normally? Is that a standard for behaviour? “But Takano-san. It goes without saying that you need to introduce yourself, why would I even say it?”

He allows that to sink in for a while. Aoyagi is right. Could he have spent too long away from home, to forget about this completely? Everything is about self-introductions and pointless addresses. He should have expected this to happen, even if nobody was there to warn him about it beforehand. And yet, he got angry…

Takano almost sits down without realizing that the rest of his deskmates are still standing. In the last moment, by the time he would pull his chair out, Aoyagi speaks up. Another morning assembly – but now only for the population of their desk complex, a handful of company employees. The same thing as before. Nobody has anything to confess, but Aoyagi has someone to introduce. He has to do his address again.

And then again. And again. And again, as Aoyagi takes him around the entire office and makes every single desk stop whatever they are doing just so Takano can say hi to them. He will never look at their faces ever again – he knows that. He does not care about these people, he only cares about snatching Aoyagi away. When they arrive to Ootsuka’s group, the tension rises.

Yamada stares at him like a man ready to kill. Ootsuka tries his best not to look threatening. (Unless he is staring at Yamada, trying to force him into behaving.)

“This is our new contract emplo…”

Yamada cuts him off before his boss could do anything about it. “We know. Takano Haruka.” Then, once the awkward silence sets in, due to his comment, he adds, in a much lower voice. “I am still keeping my eyes on you. Remember what I said about our treasure.”

Takano gives him the most painful smile he could muster. At least this prevents him from performing the very same speech for the ten millionth time, and they can finally go back to their desks. If anyone asked him to rate his company experience from one to ten so far, he would give it a strong zero. Speaking of strong zero…

He turns towards Aoyagi once they are back at their desk with an angelic smile. “Aoyagi-san. Don’t worry, if you come to my company, you will not have to go through this annoying address misery all over again.”

But isn’t that a disadvantage? Aoyagi asks. If they don’t get through this introduction period, how will his workmates remember his face and name?

“Is it not easier to go up to someone when you have a question about something if you have already talked to each other once, no matter how briefly? Japanese people are shy, so they need this extra push at work.”

I am Japanese people, Takano wants to say. Then, he says it, which prompts another soft laugh from Aoyagi.

“But of course you are, Takano-san,” he confirms, and never finishes his sentence, even though there is that definite _but_ lingering in the air.  

What is that supposed to mean? It comes out, slowly and steadily. Surely Takano is also from Japan, but he speaks so many languages so flawlessly, surely for a person like that, it is a lot easier to navigate in the workplace as well.

Damn Aoyagi and his monolingual inferiority complex.

“You are perfect the way you are, Aoyagi-san,” Takano thinks. “If only you had more confidence in yourself and agreed to come and work for me…”

A shadow passes through Aoyagi’s face. “You would be the first one to hate it, you know.”

“I cannot hate it if you don’t even give me the chance to. English can be learned, just give it a month or two.”

Aoyagi’s eyes pop out, then he bursts out in laughter. (Again!) Takano wonders if he understands just how audible he must be even on the other side of the office. Some people turn their heads, but most of them are not bothered enough even to check who is having so much fun during business hours. After pressing a stray tear to the corner of his eye, Aoyagi asks him just how many months he thinks he gave to English already.

“Every half a year or so rumours crop up that Ariake will implement English as the main language in the office, in preparation of branching out to overseas customers. I have my bags all ready and packed for the time when it won’t be a simple rumour anymore, you know. Because people like me, who were destined to live their whole lives without a minimal grasp of English will be the first to go when a corporate restructuring happens.”

He sits at the head of a desk and still comes to work with the fear of downsizing every single day, even though Ariake owes him the successful retirement performance of his own daughter. This company really does not value whatever it has. (Exhibit A: Ariake _shachō_ cordially inviting Takano Haruka to steal his best man.)

Takano changes his approach. “But you know you can always do something else, Aoyagi-san. There is more to the world than this company.”

For people with skills, Aoyagi answers, again, there might be more to the world than this company. Takano wonders how many times he will repeat the exact same phrase over and over again… does he think he could not hear him the first time? Is there something he is missing?

It seems like Aoyagi is stuck in the same position while he is frantically dancing around him, trying to solve the problem that should not exist to begin with. (Ha ha.) So he changes his approach again.

“That doesn’t sound too much fun, constantly being worried about keeping your job. I thought you told me having fun at work is the most important.”

And it is, Aoyagi agrees. He perhaps does not even see the glaring juxtaposition between what he is saying and what he is doing. You can absolutely not enjoy something while constantly fearing for your position at the same time. He tells Aoyagi: fun is not something you have on your company president’s command.

“I know, I know. Things seem grim sometimes, and there are times I am frustrated … there are times when I think I cannot just simply do it anymore…” He omits something there, quite clearly, a long pause, perhaps even a crack in his voice. Takano knows what he is thinking of. They talked about this in Vienna. “But after a while, you know, when you look back at the situation you thought was impossible and frustrating? You worked your way through it, and the only thing you can do is laugh, because it’s been fun, after all.”

Aoyagi shrugs, sheepishly, like a gullible schoolchild. That is the secret to making company employees into slaves. Showing them that there is no world outside of your own company, and brainwashing them into thinking that unnecessary struggle is considered fun now.

“There must be jobs you do not consider wanting to quit every other week. There can always be a better boss, better pay, a better working environment…”

Aoyagi shakes his head. “Looking for perfection can be dangerous, Takano-san. It makes you refuse to settle with what you have. What if I never have enough? When do I know that it is time to stop wanting more? This place isn’t really that bad. Comes with health insurance, a pension plan, and they compensate for commuting expenses as well.”

Takano presses his lips together, unsure if he was more frustrated with or sorry for Aoyagi. “What happened to not wanting to be the yes-man of your boss anymore?”

Aoyagi shuts him down by telling him that they are talking about something different and that it “goes without saying” that nobody wants to be a simple yes-man to their company. The more he tries to suggest that Aoyagi’s company might not be the best, the more distant his gaze seems to get. Is it because he knows that Takano is right but does not want to face himself with the truth? Or is he begging him to stop because he is afraid that sooner or later he will listen and start wanting more.

Before, while he was the image model of the company, Takano was the one who made this company shake in fear with his whimsical attitude towards everything. This time he knows he cannot afford to act too entitled (even if that proves to be a huge challenge), unless he wants to lose the familiar spark in Aoyagi’s eyes completely.

Their relationship towards each other changed the moment he decided to assume the role of a salaryman in order to get closer to Aoyagi. (Was it a mistake? Perhaps. Was it necessary? It was.) Now, he placed himself in the hands of his boss. If Aoyagi were any smarter, he would understand the power he has over him. This way, Takano is probably safe.

He turns away from Aoyagi for now, pretending to go back to the paperwork he got to fill out. It only takes a few minutes until Aoyagi speaks again.

“Oh, I hope you are almost ready with that. We have a briefing session in about five minutes, make sure you are not late.”


End file.
